The present invention is directed to room air conditioners of the type having a slide-out chassis contained within an outer housing, and more particularly, to the configuration of certain components of the slide-out chassis to facilitate insertion of the chassis within the housing.
Air conditioning units such as so called "window room air conditioners" are commonly used for residential and similar applications and generally include closed refrigeration circuits having an evaporator and a condenser. The unit is normally divided by a partition into an evaporator section and a condenser section. The evaporator section communicates with the room air to be conditioned and the condenser communicates with external air such as outdoor air. Refrigerant flows through a refrigerant circuit absorbing heat from the room air at the evaporator and discharging heat energy to the external air at the condenser. The conventional refrigerated circuit is completed by the addition of a compressor, an expansion device and the appropriate connections between the components.
Such an air conditioning unit usually includes a basepan supporting all of the components and an outer housing surrounding the entire unit. The front of the evaporator, or indoor section, includes an indoor grille, which has openings therein for directing warm indoor air into the evaporator and discharge openings therein for directing air back into the room. The outdoor section of the housing includes a plurality of openings in the sides and top thereof, which serve as inlet openings for cooling air which flows into the outdoor section and outwardly therefrom after passing through the condenser coil which is mounted vertically in the back of the outdoor section.
In addition to the components mentioned above, the outdoor section also typically includes an outdoor fan orifice, as well as an electric motor, which typically also drives an indoor fan.
One common way of constructing such air conditioners is known as a slide-out or removable chassis air conditioner. In such air conditioners, the outer housing is typically made of sheet metal, which defines a rectangular front-facing opening. The removable chassis comprises the basepan and all of the interior components of the air conditioner. The removable chassis may be inserted or removed from the housing following removal of the aforementioned indoor grille. In the design of such units, several components, specifically the outdoor fan orifice assembly and the partition, are designed to be in close proximity to or actually contact the top wall of the outer housing.
It is has been found that on the assembly line, occasionally, an interference occurs between the aforementioned components and the top wall of the housing. Such interference may occur because the top wall is made from relatively thin sheet metal and may have some sag to it or may be partially deformed prior to having the interior components inserted therein to support it in its desired horizontal position. It is accordingly deemed desirable to eliminate such interference during the assembly of such units.